So you're new here, great! Welcome aboard! Yammer all you want, we always love new people.

But there are a few guidelines we like to give people, and a bit of a primer so they know what's going on:

The first thing you probably want to remember is that while you're a person sitting at a computer, and the other postings your reading are just that, postings. You don't see the person on the other computer reading your posts. Be considerate when you post, we love new people, but we don't like bullies and trolls (the bad kind).

And with the stock-standard 'play nice' notice out of the way: The fun stuff!

Quite possibly, you've been looking at the boards for a while, and decided to register, good for you! So you're looking at this and other postings, noticing the cool icon people have (like mine, for example). You to can have one (known as an Avatar) added to all your posts, kind'a cool, huh? So here's how you do it: #1: Follow this link to get to your avatar settings.#2:The image should be 64 x 64 pixels, .jpg or .gif format. (the reason you give the URL, as opposed to just emailing the image is to make sure no 'Offensive Material' IE: Porn gets on here.)

So there you are, your shiny new Avatar and you're wondering what to do next.

So Post, already!

There are a large and varied selection of threads to follow (as of writing this, about 1000 topics). Just jump in! But there are some good rules of thumb:

Read up on the thread before posting. These things have a way of mutating mid-stride, so something about James Burke can be talking about 17th century German Embroidery. (this has happened).

But be careful what you post. We especially love seeing painted models, but not everyone wants to see nekkid miniatures, so live by this rule of thumb: Would your sweet grandma want to see that picture? Once you decide if it's passable, then post it!

Also: Don't just post 'you suck', see previous commentary about being polite, it's so easy, why not do it?

I bet you're wondering how to post an image, aren't you? Well, the Forum Softwear makes it easy as putting on a hat.

Just above the box where you type in your words, you'll see a little button marked 'Image'. Press that once.

A box will pop up, asking for the URL of the image you want, you type in the address of the image you have stored, something like:

When you click OK this time, it will make another popup asking for the name you want to give the link. (many people erase the default 'My Hopemage' and list 'here').

This is a good way to show people where a picture is that wouldn't be approved of to be posted here. But do give plenty of warning that some people might not want to see it.

Now that you've posted, and you're basking in the glow of it, you notice other things. There's your post, and there's your avatar, and the total number of postings are listed. So here's how to understand it.

So then you see people with 'Mostly Harmless', 'Rabble Rouser', 'Enlightened', 'Master', and 'Godlike' above their pictures. This is just a ranking system that does nothing (well, it does give bragging rights) other than to have something on their postings. (like the ring/halo thing on mine). You'll be proud of getting to each level, and people will congratulate you when you reach them, it's a little cookie, now enjoy.

Don't worry about them, some of us have been at this since practically Day One. And just because someone has more postings than you doesn't mean they can push you around. Don't take no guff, but remember to listen.

So enough pontificating...

So what are some of the things we say, here's a brief glossary (which will undoubtedly change as I edit this)

YMMV: Your Mileage May Vary. A nice way of saying 'this is what works for me, you might find something different', applicable to religion, painting, paint brushes, soda, cooking, or the occassional lobbed monkey.

FLGS: Friendly Local Gaming Store. The place you go to where everyone knows your name, and they're always glad you came... (hmm, sounds like lyrics). The place you go when you want a game fix, or pick up more miniatures.

The Hypnotoad: Resident Reaper Forums Mascot. A thirty-second skit on Futurama, I started threatening people with it, it stuck. There's even a picture for it. A running joke that keeps running. Pulled out when someone wants something, and we can't get it yet.

RL: Real Life, you've most like heard this one before. But it means any and all things not online.

Again, this will expand as time goes on.

Now: You're seeing people listed like 'ReaperKit', 'ReaperMatt', or 'ReaperRon'. What the heck is that about? Those are rare and special people, they actually work at Reaper Miniatures, and post to the forums, pretty much anything they say can be taken as gospel. Choir music, clapping of hands and faith healing optional.

(Oh, and if you see someone logged in as 'EdPugh' that really is THE Ed Pugh, owner of Reaper and all around nice guy)

So by now, you're thinking bashing your head into something might sound like a good idea, but don't, I'm at the end of by babble, and I wish you the best of everything on the Reaper Boards

“If you asked people in 1989 what they needed to make their life better, it was unlikely that they would have said that a decentralized network of information nodes that are linked using hypertext.” - Sep Kamvar

All silliness aside, just make a note of what lstorm has already mentioned in the first post. Here we are all friends and family and we treat each other with courtesy and respect. We also welcome new members with open arms.

Now, posting an image anywhere. When you're making a post, look directly above the text box where you write it out. The last button says "Image." Click on that button, and a dialog box will come up requesting you to enter the URL of your image. You need to make certain about a couple of things...

1) That your image is hosted on the web. For this you'll need webspace. CoolMiniOrNot is a good place that hosts images for you of your miniatures, however people tend to be rather critical there with their judging. If you have your own website, that works as well. Places like Tripod, GeoCities, and Angelfire, however free they are, do not allow for remote hosting of images. If you aren't sure how to upload an image, feel free to ask and we'll be happy to walk you through the process of uploading to a site.

2) You need to make certain you have the correct URL for your image. This is as easy as opening the page, highlighting the URL with your mouse from the Address field, and pressing your <Ctrl> and <C> keys at the same time. This copies the URL to your notepad. Then, in the dialog box that comes up when you press the "Image" button, highlight the "http://" that is in the and press <Ctrl> and <V> at the same time. This will input what you just copied into the dialog box. Press "Okay" and some funny code will appear in your text area.

Please note, as lstormhammer mentioned, that risque or questionable content (showing female breasts, or other parts of anatomy of either gender that are normally clothed) should not have an image posted. Warn people in the title of of your thread as well as the post itself, and use the "http://" button to post a link to the image instead of showing the image itself. If you aren't certain if your image would fall under this category, PM Kit or one of the Moderatorss such as lstormhammer, Froschmeister, or LadyStorm and ask.

Pardon my rambling. Hope it was of some help

Wielder of the original BONK! 

Kheprera - main character on Freedom; global chat handle is @Kheprera - City of Heroes, give me a shout!

"If I fail, they write me off as another statistic. If I succeed, they pay me a million bucks to fly out to Hollywood and fart." --- George A. Romero

"Hulk bash Iron Man face!" --- my son, Thomas, at seeing Iron Man #19

"If I had any dignity, that would have been humiliating" --- Adam Savage from Mythbusters

<command>-c (command is the apple key) and <command>-v if you're on a Mac.

“If you asked people in 1989 what they needed to make their life better, it was unlikely that they would have said that a decentralized network of information nodes that are linked using hypertext.” - Sep Kamvar

What about instructions for quoting other posts? I remember that it took some of us a while to figure that one out.

To quote a previous post in your message, go to the post you want to quote. Look for the little "quote" button in the upper right corner of that post's window. Hit that button. When the window opens to "enter your post", scroll down to view the quote. Trim any unnecessary bits (don't quote more than you need).

For those new to the forum, if you wish to introduce yourself, you can do that in the "Off Topic Rampancy" forum. Generally, I don't think any of us has introduced ourselves, we just hop on, start posting, and let everyone else figure us out on their own.

Wielder of the original BONK! 

Kheprera - main character on Freedom; global chat handle is @Kheprera - City of Heroes, give me a shout!

"If I fail, they write me off as another statistic. If I succeed, they pay me a million bucks to fly out to Hollywood and fart." --- George A. Romero

"Hulk bash Iron Man face!" --- my son, Thomas, at seeing Iron Man #19

"If I had any dignity, that would have been humiliating" --- Adam Savage from Mythbusters

This may be something other new members would need to know if they use AOL and Spam-filters.

I registered two days ago and several times have logged in, yet still was displayed as guest and told I could not post.

My husband Steve Page (long time forum member) tells me that there's a confirmation email that is sent to all members when they register to be certain that legitimate email addresses have been used. He told me that it sometimes takes a day or so.

Still, when it hadn't come, I got suspicious and checked..and much to my chagrin, there it was in my Spam-bin.

Though none of the magic watchwords (enlarge, mortgage, viagra) were in the subject, it still got sorted as Spam.

If you have AOL 9.0 Optomized, then your Spam folder can be found by opening your filing cabinet (upper left hand tab on the AOL toolbar under MAIL, in the dropdown menu). The Spam folder is one of the folder options just like "sent mail" and "saved mail".

If you have earlier versions, and have activated the Spam sorter, then your Spam folder has to be accessed online by going to the MAIL dropdown menu and clicking on MAIL CONTROLS. If your version is like mine, then there will be a link to AOL MAIL ON THE WEB somewhere in the righthand side of the window that pops up. Click that link and you will be prompted to enter your AOL username and password again, and then taken to your mail-online where you can access your Spam box...and hopefully also your long-anticipated Reaper Forum confirmation letter.

BTW..I'm very glad to be here, and yes, lstormhammer, I could not resist your charm. :)